I would like to change the fuel filter.

I read where many cars place the filter in the fuel pump which is inside the gas tank.

:-(

 

No need to replace the fuel filter; many (most, all?) new cars sold in the U.S. these days don't even have a fuel filter.

 

In my region, fuel filter for a Petrol CX-7 is scheduled for replacement every 150,000kms / 90,000 miles.

 

Agreed, however, here in the States fuel filters are no longer necessary, hence the fact that virtually all new cars sold here do not even have one. The older cars on the road with a filter should never require a change of said filter.

 

I very much doubt any cars are being sold without fuel filters.
The CX7 is part of the fuel pump assembly.

 

Doubt all you want, here in the United States and Canada, the cars are being sold without fuel filters.

 

I did a little research and found the following:

• Manufacturers started eliminating the fuel filters for North American cars north of the Mexican border in the mid 2000s
• By 2010 even legacy designs (i.e. older models not yet refreshed) were being updated to delete the fuel filter
• By 2015 I was only able to find a few gasoline fueled vehicles sold here with fuel filters, and bulk of them were trucks

The upshot of all of this is fuel filters in this market are no longer necessary, and if you're driving a vehicle with one, changing it is more likely to cause an issue than leaving it alone. Said another way, two of our three current cars have a fuel filter; if I happen to drive them long enough to hit the half-million mile mark, I *might* consider changing the fuel filters; but probably not.

 

Fuel filter might have been eliminated because the gas quality is quite good.

I only had one issue with gas, but that was in the 80's.

There was water in my gas which caused my engine to die.

I fixed it by adding methanol.

 

Agreed, the fuel quality here in North America, Mexico excepted (and they've come a long way), is quite high; there is no longer a need for a fuel filter.

As for water in the fuel, that is pretty much a thing of the past as well. Why? Because here in the States and Canada, most fuel is E10 (i.e. 10% Ethanol), and that is effectively a fuel "dryer" as the alcohol binds with any water and sends it through the engine.

 

Going thru the online workshop manuals for vehicles sold in New Zealand & Australia, I see that the current model Mazda 6, 3, 2, CX3 & CX5 (2.0 & 2.5 Petrol Skyactiv) still have a fuel filter.